Load cell source

[DweebsUnited]

Hey all,

As part of our strategy this year we would like to be able to reliably measure the tension in a length of surgical tubing. We know that Bomb Squad was able to do this very successfully using a load cell.

What good sources are there for load cells? We would like to keep the cost reasonable, as most of the units we have found so far are more than 500-600 dollars. Is it even reasonable to find one less that that, or is that a typical price range?

Thanks for any and all help, see you on the fields!

Eric "Ozzy" Osburn

[DweebsUnited]

So after a bit more searching, we got really lucky.

http://www.digikey.com/product-search/en/sensors-transducers/force-sensors/1966743?k=fc23

The FC23xx line of compression sensors linked here is reasonably priced enough to be useful. Keep in mind, to use these you will need an Instrumentation Amplifier to get it to a readable voltage.

The tutorial found here:
http://edg.uchicago.edu/tutorials/load_cell/

explains it pretty simply. Just imagine a cRio instead of an Arduino. It even links to a nice instrumentation amp, also available on digikey!

Good luck to you all! See you on the fields.

[Gdeaver]

Search digi key and you will find a amplified and conditioned version rated at 100lbs.